Lena Dunham modeled for ASOS and looked pretty great doing it. In other Lena Dunham news, her first book of essays is reportedly the subject of a bidding war and will net her at least a $1 million advance. [Refinery29]

Kristen Bell and Nia Long
star in an interminable Target ad
a "shoppable film" to be released on YouTube in three installments. Everything on the screen from the homewares to the characters' clothing is for sale at Target. [NYDN
]
Meghan Collison
is on the October cover of Vogue
Italia. [FGR
]
Coco Rocha and Zac Posen
chat about friendship and fashion in this behind-the-scenes video from the designer's spring lookbook shoot. Then they clear the set and dance to "New York, New York." [YouTube
]
Karl Lagerfeld
hung a sign reading "No Smoking Here"
on the wall during his showroom appointments with editors interested in the spring Chanel collection — a punny way to point out that the Kaiser left the tuxedos to Hedi Slimane this season. [WWD
]
Special snowflake Tom Ford
seems at last to be adjusting to the realities of the fashion media cycle: not only did he release images of a half-dozen looks from his spring show at roughly the same time every other designer does — rather than waiting six months to be contrarian — he just put out this video revealing all of the collection's looks. [YouTube
]
Rob Pruitt
's full collection for Jimmy Choo
sure is...different. And expensive: $895
leopard-print boudoir mules, anyone? [SheFinds
]
Sam Taylor-Wood
shot the campaign for the upcoming H&M/Maison Martin Margiela
collaboration. That oversized jacket definitely is interesting. [WWD
]
Man, Kanye West
's shoes (co-produced with Giuseppe Zanotti
and inspired by the album art for Cruel Summer
) are heaps better this season than last. [SheFinds
]

Cathy Horyn, the New York Times fashion critic and a front-row fixture, was banned from the Yves Saint Laurent show. Women's Wear Daily first noted Horyn's absence, and the brand confirmed she had not been invited but declined to elaborate on the reasons why. (Fashion writers are in the unusual position of depending on the companies they cover for access.) Horyn, in her review of the collection, notes that lots of top editors were given worse-than-usual seats:

many front-row editors, to their disgruntlement, were given second- and third-row seats, and some, including an editor from Le Monde, had to stand. While a lot of journalists don't really care where they sit, the lack of professional courtesy smacked of ignorance or arrogance.

I was not invited. Despite positive reviews of his early YSL and Dior collections, as well as a profile, Mr. Slimane objected bitterly to a review I wrote in 2004 — not about him but Raf Simons. Essentially I wrote that without Mr. Simons's template of slim tailoring and street casting, there would not have been a Hedi Slimane — just as there would never have been a Raf Simons without Helmut Lang. Fashion develops a bit like a genetic line.

Anyway, Mr. Slimane insisted that he was the first to show the skinny suit. It was a silly debate. Who cares? As time went on, he also felt (as best as I can tell) that I gave preference to Mr. Simons in my coverage of the men's shows. If I gave him attention, it was because his work and my reporting into the key early part of his career merited it. I haven't spoken to Mr. Slimane in five years.

When I raised the invitation matter with his boss, Francois-Henri Pinault, the chief executive of PPR, which owns Saint Laurent, Mr. Pinault expressed dismay. "That's ridiculous," he said. "Journalists should be invited to shows." Quite so. But I suspected that Mr. Pinault was in a jam. Having given Mr. Slimane much authority to remake Saint Laurent, he could scarcely take it away from him.

Stylist Stacey London's new memoir, The Truth About Style, tells the story of her life and career through her encounters with nine women with very different problems and relationships to fashion — including a breast cancer survivor, a fashion blogger, and a young woman entering the workforce. London says she likes her job because "I get to participate in the transformation of women. Not one person I know isn't concerned with their appearance. To trivialize fashion is to rob ourselves of a great tool." She also says that at age 43, "My life doesn't feel in front of me anymore." London lives alone and never married or had children. "I've had my head down, with blinders on. I have no idea what that person would look like if I found him. I want to sit with my cat and have my tea. I'm tired. But, you know, even though my cat is an amazing listener, I don't get a lot of feedback." [WWD]

Melinda Farina, whom The Cut calls a "plastic surgery pimp," specializes in connecting the wealthy and the professionally beautiful with plastic surgeons and other medical professionals. Farina says, "I take care of supermodels, but much of that is nutrition, eating-disorder therapy, and corrective dentistry for eroding teeth. I have worked on the Trumps, Catherine Zeta-Jones, tons of tycoons, multiple royals. Surgeries at 1 a.m., back-door entrances, private nurses in hotel penthouses." [The Cut]

Word is that Maybelline may be dropping Erin Wasson from its roster. Wasson has been a face of the brand since 2002. [P6]

Alexander McQueen reported strong sales and growing profits for fiscal 2011. Operating profits grew to £5.15 million, up £3.86 million from the previous year. Sales rose by almost £8 million, to £40.67 million. The company credited, in part, Kate Middleton's wedding dress for the success. [Telegraph]

Donna Karan was giving a speech at Harvard University when she decided to lead the audience in guided meditation. As you do. [WWD]

The founder of the skincare line Aesop says he'd like to invent edible sunscreen — that is, a pill that you can take prior to sun exposure to prevent skin cancer, burns, and premature aging. [WSJ]

Anyone checking the official Paris Fashion Week schedule yesterday online would have seen an unusual pop-up giving notice that the Hakaan show had been cancelled because the collection was lost. It turns out that the entire collection designed by London-based Hakaan Yildirim was lost by a courier company en route to Paris. Apparently the samples will be remade in time for showroom appointments, but not for the Paris show. [Telegraph]

Korean male model Sung Jin Park says most of his friends from back home who are doing their compulsory military service "just want me to set them up with female models." And he's sick of it! "I told them, 'If you ask me one more time, I will block your number.'" [WWD]